Getting Around, Dover Travel, Transport and Car Rental
(Dover, Delaware - DE, USA)
Being a relatively small and quiet city, Dover is easy to travel around by car, and many visitors opt for a rental car to be their preferred mode of transport.
If you are only in the capital for a short time or simply prefer to use public transport instead of a hire car, then the DART bus transit is on hand and makes a number of stops around downtown Dover and beyond. Taxis are also available, but need to be arranged by phone rather than flagged down on the street.
Interestingly, Dover is actually only one of a handful of American state capitals that is not directly served by an Interstate. However, the Korean War Veterans Memorial Highway (US-1) does travel through the eastern outskirts of the city, connecting Smyrna, Middletown, Bear, Newark and Wilmington to the north.
Airports / Arriving by Air
Although the Dover Air Force Base is situated on the southeasterly outskirts of the capital, this is solely used by the US Air Force and does not offer commercial flights. Therefore, those planning to fly in and out of Dover will find that the closest commercial air facility is actually New Castle Airport (ILG), located roughly 40 miles / 64 km to the north. From downtown Dover, New Castle Airport is easy to reach via Highway US-1, which passes by Cheswold, Smyrna, Townsend, Middletown, Odessa and Bear. Ground transport at New Castle Airport is fairly basic and just consists of car rental and taxis.
Other commercial airports located within reach of Dover include:
Salisbury-Ocean City-Wicomico Regional Airport (SBY)
Address: 5485 Airport Terminal Road, Salisbury, Maryland (MD), 21804, USA
Tel: +1 410 548 4827
Distance / direction: 64 miles / 103 km south
Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI)
Address: 7062 Friendship Road, Maryland (MD), 21240-0766, USA
Tel: +1 410 859 7111
Distance / direction: 85 miles / 137 km west
Baltimore Airports Guide
Philadelphia International Airport (PHL)
Address: 8500 Essington Avenue, Philadelphia, 19153, Pennsylvania (PA), USA
Telephone: +1 215 937 6937
Distance / direction: 72 miles / 116 km northeast
Philadelphia Airports Guide
Car Rental
Dover is not a big city, nor is it a busy city. Therefore, if you intend to travel around by hire car, you should not encounter any problems. Metered parking is available on Bradford Street (roughly in between Reed Street and Loockerman Street), where charges are extremely affordable, per hour or per day. Further parking is available at Governors Avenue and Water Street, with free two-hour parking being available on weekdays. Museum-goers will also find convenient free parking spaces along Bank Street and New Street.
If you prefer the freedom of not relying on bus transport, then driving yourself around is likely to be the best option, particularly if you wish to travel outside of the city's boundaries. Highway US-13 is the principal drag in downtown Dover and is known as the Dupont Highway (north to south). This road is intersected by Highway US-8, which travels in an east to west direction, continuing as far as
Maryland and the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.
Buses
Local bus transport in Dover is laid on for the use of both local commuters and tourists, being run by the Delaware Transit Corporation (DART First State). Bus routes tend to radiate outwards from the centrally located Water Street Transfer Center. Inter-county bus transport is also available and travels between Dover, Georgetown, Rehoboth Beach and Wilmington, amongst other neighboring destinations. Further afield, Greyhound buses travel throughout Delaware, crossing the state border into Maryland (west) and
Pennsylvania (north).
Trains
Dover lies along the old Pennsylvania Railroad line and this route is now used by the Norfolk Southern Railway freight company. This means that there are currently no passenger services in Dover as such, and that Wilmington's Amtrak train station is the nearest to the city, at just over an hour away, to the far north.
Taxis
Taxis are best suited to short journeys and trips outside of public transport hours, especially if you are heading home late after a night out on West Loockerman Street. Most local taxi cab companies in Dover operate 24-hours a day and include the very established City Cab Taxi (tel: +1 302 678 8200), which is based on South Governors Avenue and has been servicing the state capital since the 1940s. In general, local taxis don't normally travel around the city looking for a fare or queuing in long ranks, and so generally need to be organized by phone.
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